Misdirection
by HashtagLEH
Summary: The job of the assistant is to misdirect the audience's attention to them, while the magician performs the larger trick. Danny didn't realize that he was the audience as well as the magician. It takes a few overheard words for him to finally realize that he wants Jack - not anyone else. Part 3 of Tricks of the Trade


**This has so much fluff that you may rot your teeth on its sweetness. But it also has a bit of angst in the beginning, so I think several of you should be happy. Hope you enjoy!**

 **…**

Daniel and Jack hadn't exactly been trying to keep their relationship a _secret_ from Merritt and Henley, but they'd been keeping it a secret from everyone else at their magic shows for long enough that it was just habit by now not to show it when in front of other people.

They'd been working with Henley and Merritt for three days on the blueprints, figuring out the main gist of what they were doing. It was clear after that that they would be based in New York City for a while, so they'd decided that they needed to find another place they could stay at and sleep in during that time, considering that none of them lived there anymore. So the fourth day, they split up in pairs to look at the market for apartments nearby that would be big enough for the four of them for a few months. None of them honestly really minded the idea of living with everyone else, so it just made sense to split the costs for one apartment, though slightly bigger than the average one.

At the end of their day of searching, they met back up at apartment 6A where they'd first met, going over their findings.

"I assumed four bedrooms from the get-go," Henley started with, pulling several papers from her purse and laying them on the crate-turned-table in front of the couch. "And you'd be surprised how few there actually are with four bedrooms outside of a townhouse, so I looked at some of those, too."

"Why four bedrooms?" Danny was the one to ask confusedly.

Henley looked at him with a "duh" expression on her face. "Because there are four of _us_ …" she said slowly as though to make sure he would understand. Jack chuckled, the first one to realize what was going on.

"Danny and I share," he inputted with a smile. "So unless you and Merritt want to share, we only need three bedrooms. Sorry we didn't think to tell you before you went out."

Henley stared at him in surprise, mouth open slightly as she blinked between the two – the amused, though apologetic expression on Jack, and the confused expression on Danny.

"Right," she finally said, and shook herself slightly to wake herself up before getting up from the couch and running to the kitchen. When she came back, she was grinning and holding a bottle of wine and four glasses in her hands.

"I don't know how I didn't notice it before," she said conversationally, setting the glasses down on top of the crate and popping open the wine. As she poured it, she continued, "I mean, it was clear enough that Jack was checking you out, but I hadn't realized that for you he was anything more than your assistant."

"You're not upset?" Jack blurted in surprise as she handed him one of the glasses of wine.

She shrugged. "I didn't honestly think anything would change with Danny anyway, so finding out he has a boyfriend isn't going to send me to the floor in tears. It's a good thing I like you though, Wilder."

"So, what's up with the wine?" Danny finally inputted, gazing suspiciously into the regular dinner glass with the purple wine. "We're not celebrating anything."

"Because I like wine during story time!" Henley exclaimed as though this explained everything, taking a long draw from the glass as though to illustrate her point. She poured more to fill it up again, even though only an inch or two had been drunk from it. "And I want to hear how you guys got together. Or, to put it better"—she looked directly at Jack—"I want to know how long it took you to assist him in pulling his head out of his ass, and what you did to finally accomplish it!"

Jack laughed at Danny's offended expression, and didn't bother resisting the urge to lean over and kiss it off his face. When he pulled away, Danny's expression was a lot more mild, though there was still a faint irritation there. Ignoring it, Jack looked over to Merritt.

"I'm just surprised that you didn't say anything," he commented with a laugh. "I was sure that you'd figured it out before we even found the blueprints."

"I was under the impression that it was a secret," Merritt drawled, holding his already empty glass out to Henley for a refill. He was never one to draw out the flavor of alcohol, and drank it like it was water.

"So spill!" Henley said excitedly. "How'd you two happen?"

"Well, firstly I'd have to thank you for that," Jack said honestly. "I told you how he'd accidentally gone to the gay bar? Well, I was there and saw him getting pestered by some greasy creep and figured I'd swoop in and save the day."

"My knight in shining armor," Danny said sarcastically, though his eyes were soft when they looked at Jack.

Jack chuckled. "Does that make you the damsel in distress?" he teased, and laughed again at the look that crossed Danny's face.

"Okay, so that's how you _met_ ," Henley stressed, "But how did you _get together_?"

Jack chuckled again at her eagerness. "Well, he was short an assistant, so he hired me," he explained. "After some persuasion on my side, of course. All I'd wanted in the beginning was a regular paying gig, but then I started noticing Danny more. He was oblivious, of course…"

…

Jack didn't think he'd ever met anyone so oblivious to everything and everyone around them – especially when they were such a control freak that they noticed all of the little details most people missed. He really didn't know what else to do.

He'd been working as Danny's assistant-slash-right hand act for about ten months, and if he was honest, it was a good ten months. Frustrating at times, so much so that he wished his hair was longer so that he could get a good enough grasp on it to tear it out, but mostly good. The frustration mostly stemmed from his own doubts in the beginning, though of course Danny was not free of all culpability. The man was arrogant and controlling and bossy – something no one in their right mind would want to deal with on a regular basis.

And that's where most of his own doubts came from.

That night in the bar, when they'd first met, Jack had thought the guy was cute when he saw him uncomfortable with the creepy guy all over him. It had been his initial attraction that had seen him going over to lend him aid, but even then he hadn't expected anything to come from it. And then when Danny had said how he'd never been hit on by another man – well, at least he wasn't a homophobe. But it also confirmed that he himself wasn't gay, so Jack had subconsciously crossed him off as 'off limits'. And then when he'd learned how he was short an assistant now, he'd seen it as an opportunity to get a regular job, rather than conning tourists and locals alike with his sleight of hand. It had been nothing more than that.

And it had worked – at least for a while. Even as aggravating as Danny could be, especially after he closed himself off more emotionally after they started working together, they had a chemistry when they got onstage that saw a higher volume in the crowd than was usual. They worked together seamlessly, making a duo that no one would have expected of the two.

It had been that ease that saw Jack looking at the older man a lot more. He had seen how Danny treated other people, and while he wouldn't say that he himself was treated perfectly, he could see that Danny was a touch more open and friendly with Jack than he could see with anyone else. With anyone else, Danny was stiffer, not knowing exactly what to say and so going with the image of an arrogant asshole instead. And while Danny could definitely be a dick to him, Jack found his attraction to him growing.

He must have been crazy – that was it. It didn't matter that Danny didn't know how to interact socially at a normal and acceptable level – he was still a condescending ass, no matter the reason or excuse. Stagehands and lower assistants quit all the time because of Danny – frequently after being brought to tears by said man. Jack had made it a point of trying to comfort and assure as many of them as possible that they were indeed important and smart after some of the things Danny had said. He tried explaining how Danny wasn't _trying_ to insult them, but was only speaking his mind with absolutely no filter, but it wasn't always easy. Danny could be very mean without realizing it, and it only got worse if someone tried correcting him.

Maybe he was a masochist. Yes, that must be it. Why else would he enjoy and even look forward to being around a man who could and did bring people to tears and/or anger with just a few cutting remarks? Jack hadn't been exempt from this treatment, either – Jack had been angry several times with the things that Danny said.

But…that was the problem. He knew for a fact that Danny wasn't trying to insult people or hurt their feelings. Danny wasn't cruel; he was just…awkward. Oblivious. And as time went on, Jack was able to better see between the actual words that Danny said, and figure out what Danny felt too uncertain and uncomfortable saying. It was like translating another language, and sometimes Jack wouldn't realize until later what he meant by some comment or another.

But it didn't matter. Danny wasn't gay. He liked girls; he would never like Jack. So, Jack only watched from afar, wishing for a relationship that he knew he'd never be able to have. He would get past it, he was sure. It was just a crush.

But then the people he brought to the bedroom after the shows began to change. The first time Jack saw a young man finishing with buttoning up his pants while coming out of Danny's dressing room that doubled as a bedroom, he thought he surely must have been mistaken. Usually it was half-dressed girls that came out of Danny's dressing room. He couldn't think of another reason someone would come out of there in the early hours of the morning…but surely there must have been one. Because Danny wasn't gay.

There were several girls that he saw coming out in the weeks following, and he said nothing because it was really none of his business. He was Danny's assistant, and nothing more. Maybe he could be considered a friend…maybe. Danny didn't really _have_ friends – but Jack considered Danny his friend at least, even if it didn't go both ways.

And then more men began coming out than girls. There was still the occasional girl, but more often than not it would be a disgruntled young man brushing past him to get to their own places. Jack suspected that Danny had informed them, as he did with everyone he slept with, that it was nothing more than a one night stand and they shouldn't have been so foolish to expect anything more. Jack remembered overhearing a couple of girls who would spill the whole story as soon as they could call their best friend or whoever else they trusted; how Danny explained that it was truly 'just sex', and as far as affection went, he held none for them – how could he, when he'd just met them less than twenty-four hours before? And while girls were more inclined to display their emotions, Jack knew just as well that men were equally as capable of that feeling of betrayal when Danny gave them his go-to speech.

Jack knew that Danny was a playboy and something of a whore. He was certain that Danny knew it as well, but the other man wasn't ashamed of it. He just didn't see the big deal.

So Jack tried forgetting about Danny. Because even with his apparent new fascination with dicks, he knew that he wouldn't be anything more than a fling. And he didn't want to ruin what friendship they _did_ have, especially when Danny didn't have anyone else. Because he _did_ care for him. And he remembered how upset Danny had been when Henley had quit. He didn't want to invoke those same feelings if he ended up having to leave.

But it was too difficult. After a couple of months, he couldn't deal with it anymore. They'd come closer as friends, so Jack thought that _maybe_ this wouldn't be a one-time thing with Danny. Maybe Danny would want more. He had to at least try. Not try to get into bed with him, because he was certain enough that Danny wouldn't push him away. To Danny, sex was just a way of letting off steam – nothing more than a release of endorphins in the brain that caused physical pleasure. So Danny would think nothing of sleeping with Jack, assuming that Jack knew the same and they could be something like friends with benefits – no strings attached.

But, Jack _did_ want strings attached. He wouldn't say he was ready to get on one knee and propose to the man – he wasn't _that_ crazy – but he did want something more serious than a romp in the sheets. But, he knew how Danny would react if he just came out and asked him on a date – badly. He would assume the worst, and close himself off emotionally until Jack was just another stagehand in his magic shows.

So, Jack tried being subtle. He would spend more time with him outside of practice, and would smile at him more than normal. He would flirt occasionally – not anything as obvious as sexual jokes, but little comments here and there that would put the idea in Danny's mind. He became more tactile with the other man – touching his arm when he wanted to get his attention rather than calling to him, and bumping shoulders when he was teasing him. He would stand just a touch closer to him than normal – just barely into his personal space but not enough to make Danny feel uncomfortable.

And…Danny did nothing. He said nothing. It was like he didn't notice. The stream of people leaving his dressing room continued without pause, and Danny still acted his typical know-it-all bossy self.

And now, ten months after meeting him, he was frustrated and didn't know what else to do. Danny had offered nothing in the way of encouragement towards Jack's affections, but he wasn't discouraging them, either. If he'd said something or shown _somehow_ that he didn't want anything with him, then Jack would have backed off, no questions asked. Danny was under no obligation to feel anything for him. But there was _nothing_.

One night after a show where Jack was not completely focused on all of the tricks performed, Danny made his way to his dressing room with some guy he thought was named Buffy, while Jack found himself going to the very gay bar he'd met Danny in. He was grateful to see that his cousin was the bartender that night – not because he wanted alcohol, but because he would rather get advice from his cousin than with any of the other bartenders who worked there.

"Hey, Jack!" Isaiah greeted with a smile when Jack sat down on a barstool in front of him. "Been a while since you've come around here – I was starting to wonder if you'd forgot about me!"

Jack gave him a wry smile. "Nah – I have a job, now. Not a lot of free time to come to the bar."

"Ah – you still got that magic gig, then?" Isaiah said with a boyish smile. "Good for you, kid. Finally seems you've gone somewhere with all of the card tricks you always showed us as a little boy."

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, I didn't think I'd be able to do much more than street shows, either, as much as I enjoyed it. As much as it sucks that his old assistant quit, I'm glad that I met Danny that night."

Isaiah's eyes abruptly widened with realization. "Shut. _Up_!" He exclaimed, grabbing Jack's shoulders and shaking him excitedly. "Little Jack's got a _crush_!"

"Quiet down – you're making a scene," Jack said with an embarrassed flush to his cheeks, feeling eyes on him but not looking around for who they belonged to.

"Oh, poo," Isaiah dismissed, releasing his cousin and turning to grab a couple of glasses and a bottle of vodka from the shelf behind him. "It's Wednesday. Hardly anyone's here tonight." He set the glasses on the bar and began filling them with the alcohol. "So, I want to hear all about this Danny. What he's like, more about how you met him – everything! I want details!" he insisted.

"You know, I didn't come here to get drunk," Jack stalled, gazing at the glass that Isaiah pushed in front of him.

"Pish," Isaiah dismissed his words once again while he grabbed his own glass. "You will drink it, and you will like it. Now start talking."

So Jack did. He told his cousin more of the details of how he and Danny had met – more than just the basics that Isaiah had known before – and how he'd been given a job on the spot to be his assistant. He told him of Danny's personality, of his need for control and his bossiness as well as his awkwardness with not knowing how to put something delicately. He continued with his discovery of his attraction to the older man, and his subsequent dismissal as he'd assumed that Danny wasn't gay, until he saw the stream of men coming from his room, clearly having slept with Danny the night before. He explained his uncertainty with just asking him on a date, because he knew that Danny wouldn't react well to it and he still needed at least one real friend, and then elaborated on his plan of being subtle and seeing what sort of reaction he got from him.

"But nothing," he finally finished with, tracing his finger around the rim of his glass. "Nothing positive or negative – it's like he doesn't even notice. And I don't know what else to do, because I don't know what Danny thinks of it all, if anything. But I don't want to lose him if I come on too strong, because he _hates_ when he doesn't have control and I don't want him to feel like I'm taking it away if I'm the one to ask him."

"Hm," Isaiah mused, absentmindedly swishing the alcohol around at the bottom of his glass. "Sounds like a serious problem, there."

"You think?" Jack said sarcastically, tipping back the rest of the vodka in his glass.

"Slow down there, cuz," Isaiah cautioned when Jack set the empty glass back down on the bar. "You did only just turn twenty."

" _Three months ago_ ," Jack reminded him with a roll of his eyes. "And that was only my first glass."

"What?" Isaiah was confused. "But I kept refilling the glass when it got empty. That's your third one, at least."

Jack rolled his eyes again. "You kept refilling your _own_ glass," he reminded him, nodding to the glass in Isaiah's hand. "And if you don't remember that, then you're too drunk already. Can't imagine your boss would be too happy that you're drinking on the job, anyway." He pushed the bottle of whiskey away from Isaiah's reach as though to illustrate his point.

Isaiah only shrugged carelessly. "Oh, well. No one notices when I'm drunk 'cause I'm so good at acting like I'm stone cold sober. I've had a lot of practice.

"But, back to your Danny issue. Why don't you just…kiss him? See where it goes?"

"Because I know _exactly_ where it will go," Jack sighed. "We'll kiss, and then we'll have sex – which I'm sure would be amazing, because it's _Danny_ – and then he'll just move on to the next one. It wouldn't be anything…more. And I'm not some lovesick girl who thinks that if we got together that it would be a forever thing, but – I just want to _try_ , you know? I don't want to be just another faceless person in his bed that he'll forget about when he wakes up."

Isaiah sighed. "Sex is usually the answer I give people when they come to me for advice," he admitted. "But clearly yours is a bit more delicate. I say just give it more time, then. I mean, you _did_ say he was socially inept. Maybe he just needs a bit more time before he notices any difference."

"Awkward," Jack corrected him swiftly. "He's socially _awkward_ , not useless." Isaiah only shrugged, uncaring of the technicalities.

"Alright," Jack finally agreed. "You're half drunk, and I'm not hearing any better suggestions, so…I guess I'll go with that."

"Thank you for that glowing review," Isaiah drawled sarcastically.

"Thank you, Isaiah," Jack said sincerely. "If nothing else, at least I can talk with someone about it."

"No problem, bro," Isaiah dismissed with a wave of his hand. "And come down and visit more often, yeah? And bring Danny some time – I want to meet him for real one of these days."

"I will," Jack promised, getting to his feet. "I've gotta get back – it's getting late."

"Yeah, I need to close up here, too," Isaiah admitted. "I'll catch ya later, cuz."

…

Jack paused in his story, smiling a bit to himself as he remembered what happened next.

"So?" Henley pressed when the pause got too long for her. "I see that smile on your face, Jack Wilder, and I want to know what you're thinking about that's making you so happy!"

"Danny," Jack answered simply with a smile, teasing her a bit as he drew out her wait.

"Yes, yes – you're hopelessly in love," Henley waved that away. "So get on with the story! What happened next?"

Jack chuckled at her eagerness and moved his hand down to intertwine his fingers with Danny's. Danny let him, giving him a soft smile while his eyes told him to go on.

Looking back at Henley but keeping Danny's hand in his, Jack continued with the tale.

"Well, it turns out that I really should have paid more attention to the clientele at the bar that night…"

…

It was a little over a week after Jack had talked with Isaiah at the bar, and he'd been continuing in the same manner he had beforehand, not letting on that something was different. After all, he didn't want to freak Danny out with any sudden change. And he thought that maybe…there was something. Danny was watching him more. It could have been his hopeful imagination that had him seeing it, but he was pretty sure that it wasn't.

It wasn't that Danny's watching him actually meant anything, of course. He didn't respond negatively or positively to Jack's actions, so he could've just been noticing his increasing magical talent. But somehow Jack thought it might be…more. And he was worried, because Danny seemed tense. He didn't know if it had anything to do with his actions or not, but either way he wanted to help. But he didn't know what was wrong, and he'd learned from experience that Danny wouldn't be too inclined to tell him.

One Saturday morning, Danny and Jack were both in the general waiting room backstage, going over the plans for their show that night. They were the only ones there – technical had been discussed the day before, and stagehands and other help weren't showing until that evening. They sat on one of the couches, next to each other with papers and plans on the coffee table in front of them.

"Will you teach me to throw cards?" Danny blurted suddenly during a quiet lull.

Jack blinked in surprise at the abrupt question. "I could," he said slowly. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I'm teaching _you_ some things, so I figured the least you could do was teach _me_ one," Danny said, looking uncomfortable but like he was desperately trying to hide it. To anyone else, he would've looked his normal arrogant self, but Jack could see the discomfort and knew that there was more going on than just the awkwardness he felt in asking for something.

"No, sure – of course I will," Jack agreed swiftly. "I meant – what brought this on? Why now? We've known each other for almost a year now."

"I – well…" Danny stammered, before finally blurting out, "I overheard you talking in the bar." He looked like he instantly regretted saying that.

Jack stilled, the absentminded shuffling of his deck of cards falling silent. He dropped his hands to his lap. "I see," he said evenly, though his heart was pounding, not knowing what was coming next.

"I hadn't meant to eavesdrop," Danny said hurriedly, mistaking his silence for anger. "But I saw how you looked upset after the show last week and thought you might need help. I wanted to tell you that your performance really wasn't that bad, because I know you're really hard on yourself sometimes – even harder than _I_ can be at times – and I didn't want you doing something stupid and getting hurt. And I remembered how your cousin worked at that bar and thought you might have gone there, and I came in when both of you were distracted with your own conversation, so I sat down to wait but then I heard you talking about me, and…" He stopped and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I don't really know what to say."

"Well, what does that have to do with me teaching you to throw cards?" Jack asked him, gazing at the cards in his hands and not at Danny's face. He didn't want to risk seeing rejection there.

"Well…I…" Danny hesitated. "I want…"

Jack looked up at Danny then, curious now at what could possibly make Danny stutter so much. Danny met his gaze for a brief instant before he moved forward suddenly, crashing their lips together in a desperate kiss.

Jack's heart soared – as cheesy as that sounded – at this confirmation of what Danny wanted. He'd hoped, of course, but he hadn't ever expected…

The kiss was as amazing as he thought it would be. He could taste the mint on his breath from the gum he was always chewing, could feel the light stubble scrape against his lips as they molded against each other. His hands reached up to move through Danny's curly hair, grasping and pulling, but not enough to hurt. A tongue traced his lips and he opened his mouth willingly, meeting Danny's tongue with his own and moving them curiously against each other. Danny's hands ran down his sides, grasping and squeezing with the rhythm of movement of their mouths.

Then Danny's hands went to his waist, to his belt buckle, and Jack was wrenched suddenly and painfully back to Earth. He tore himself away from Danny, shooting to his feet and stepping back to get some distance between them. He barely noticed the wounded expression on Danny's face as he backed away.

"No," he gasped, breath short from lack of air while they were kissing. "No, you – you heard what I said. I don't want to be just another fling of yours. And it's – it's okay, if you don't want that. I'll leave it alone – I'll leave _you_ alone, and we can just be partners; _work_ – partners."

"No fling," Danny managed to say, wounded expression fading and switching to awkwardness. "Not with you."

"I don't want…" Jack ran a hand through his hair, mussed already from recent activities. "I don't want you to just _say_ that and then we have sex and that's it. If you want a real relationship, I want a _real_ relationship – not one that starts with having sex."

"I don't…" Danny stammered awkwardly, and Jack noticed his face turning red. "I don't know how…to…have a real one."

Jack wavered, unsure of what Danny meant. "Do you… _do_ you want a real relationship?"

"I want to try," Danny said, fidgeting with his hands. "I do…like you, but – I don't know how to…what you want…"

Jack's face transformed into a smile at this confirmation, and he almost laughed with relief at the slight misunderstanding. Danny clearly hadn't ever had a 'real' relationship like Jack was talking about – he was used to sex, and that was it. And that was why Danny had immediately gone to remove his pants when he'd said he wanted more than just a fling. He just didn't know what else to do. Frankly, his cluelessness was a bit adorable. But then he may be a bit biased.

"Alright, I understand," Jack stopped Danny's awkward attempts at explaining himself, sitting down next to him once more and taking hold of his hands to stop their fidgeting. And to hold his hands, but no one else needed to know that.

"We don't have to do everything all at once," Jack assured him. "We can go as slow as we need to, and see how it goes along the way and make decisions when they come. Alright?"

"Alright," Danny agreed unsurely. "What do we do first?"

"Well," Jack said with a smile, "Let's start with a date. How does lunch sound?"

…

"And clearly, it worked out," Jack finished his story with a smile. "Two years later and we're still going strong."

"Oh, that was so sweet," Henley sighed happily, pouring the last of the wine into the glass for herself. "You two are the cutest."

"You made it sound like I stuttered a lot more than I actually did," Danny complained.

Jack chuckled, squeezing the hand still clasped in his. "You were confused at the time – no one is holding it against you." He insisted.

"And I'm more inclined to believe Jack's storytelling," Merritt offered his two cents. "He's impartial here."

"I think you've had too much to drink, Merritt, because Jack is _not_ impartial," Danny scoffed, rolling his eyes. "He was a part of the story, so by its own definition, he's biased."

"Oh, hush," Jack murmured, pressing their lips together once, twice, three times before pulling away again. Telling the story, remembering how it had all happened, only increased his feelings of love for the other man, and he couldn't help the display of affection. And although Danny's expression was still disgruntled, he clearly didn't mind the kissing.

"So when did you finally finalize the relationship?" Henley questioned, making a face at her choice of words – that is, the part where she had the two forms of 'final' right next to each other. "And a better question – who topped whom?"

Jack laughed. "It was about four months later, and that's all I'm telling you. You don't need to know all the sordid details of our sex life." Danny's expression showed that he was in full agreement.

"Aww," Henley complained, but she was still grinning.

"I have a question," Merritt volunteered suddenly. "Danny, Jack said he was certain you were straight when he met you. Clearly that's not the case now. But with all of those men cycling through your bed, am I right in assuming that you were having a freak-out because you thought you might have feelings for Jack before and were trying to convince yourself that it was only because Jack was the male face you saw the most and that going through so many men would rid you of your apparent interest?"

Danny was staring at him now with a look very reminiscent of a deer in the headlights, and Henley's grin had grown impossibly wider, but Jack just looked confused.

"Huh?" he said eloquently.

Henley was the one to explain. "A bit of a case of reversed misdirection," she said, and at Jack's blank look prompted, "Jack, what's the job of the assistant?"

"The distraction," Jack answered immediately. "The audience watches the smaller trick while the magician performs the real act – the bigger and more important one that will wow the audience the most."

"Right," Henley approved. "And all of those men that Danny slept with were the smaller trick – the misdirection. You were the bigger and most important act…but the one being fooled was Danny – and he was fooling himself. He knew subconsciously at least that you were more important, and – being Danny – distracted himself with the smaller act…a preparation of sorts for you."

"Okay, that's enough talking about me," Danny said abruptly while Jack sat and processed her words. "I am sitting right here, and I don't appre…" He was cut off suddenly by Jack's lips pressing to his own as the younger man figured out what Merritt and Henley had meant by their comments. The kiss quickly turned heated as Danny responded back, confused but willing to accept the enthusiastic show of affection.

"Alright, alright!" Henley said when they showed no signs of stopping. She snapped her fingers repeatedly to get their attention. "I know I wanted to know more about your sex life, but actually _witnessing_ it is a whole 'nother story!"

Finally the two separated from each other, reluctantly, but in the present enough to realize that they didn't care to have the other two see them going at it any more than Merritt and Henley wanted to see it.

"I love you," Jack whispered, forehead pressed to Danny's and lips a mere centimeter away from his. Danny smiled a bit, shyly almost, and pressed his lips to Jack's briefly once more in a wordless promise of returned affection.

"Jack, I know I've only known you for a few days," Henley said after they'd returned to normal seating arrangements, "But I'm having a hard time imagining you being anything but sure and smooth, especially when it comes to Danny."

"Two years," Jack reminded her, eyes alight with happiness. "We're only sure of each other now after a lot of trial and error with each other, working together for so long for something we both want. It certainly didn't come easy. Danny can be positively _infuriating_." The smile playing at his lips showed how he wasn't truly irritated.

"And Jack can be _really_ annoying and _stubborn_ , should he decide to be," Danny retorted, raising an eyebrow slightly in challenge.

"Danny is only fine with a mess as long as he's the one who created it," Jack volunteered. "Anyone else's mess and he has a conniption."

"It's not the mess that's bothersome; it's not knowing where everything _is_ ," Danny defended, before countering with, "Jack eats in the bed and then complains when there are crumbs in the sheets when we go to bed."

Jack didn't bother defending himself on that one, only coming back with, "Danny has to have _complete_ darkness when he's going to sleep, or he'll toss and turn all night and keep me awake. Blackout curtains are a must."

"Jack has a habit of stealing _all_ the covers at night," Danny said, while Merritt and Henley looked between the two in befuddled amusement. "Not even most of them – he'll take _all_ of them and cocoon himself inside them. But he insists on keeping the thermostat in the apartment at 65 degrees."

"Danny refuses to kill any bug larger than an ant. He'll call for me while I'm taking a shower and tell me to kill the cricket sitting by the TV because he doesn't want it to jump on him."

"Jack insists on all of the condiments for burgers and hot dogs being on the same shelf in the fridge. If the mustard is on a different shelf from the relish, he just assumes that we don't have anymore and opens another bottle without checking the other shelves."

"If we're watching a movie for the first time, Danny gets really anal about pausing it for any reason outside a true emergency."

"Jack frequently finishes the last of the milk and then doesn't put it on the grocery list."

"Danny frequently forgets to change the coffee filter."

"Jack splashes water up on the mirror in the bathroom and then forgets to wipe it off before it leaves spots."

"Danny refuses to cut melons."

"Jack refuses to eat mushrooms or olives, even if you can't taste it in the actual food."

Finally they fell silent, and they looked at each other for a moment before both their faces broke out in grins. Henley blinked in surprise at the abrupt change in demeanor – she'd been preparing for a shouting match. Though, Merritt didn't look surprised. He must have seen that neither of them was truly upset with the other.

"There are always little things that the other does that grate on our nerves," Jack said.

"But that's the small stuff," Danny added. "It's not _really_ important, and none of it defines us as a person."

"We still love each other," Jack said with a shrug, as though it should be obvious. "And we've had time enough with each other to realize that. After figuring that out, who cares if Danny isn't going to pause a movie because I have to run to the bathroom? Who cares if I complain about a mess in the bed that I made earlier?"

"We've gotten to this point because we love each other," Danny said plainly, and even Jack was surprised at the ease with which he said this. It seems he wasn't the only one feeling the catharsis of finally having a tell-all about their relationship and its dynamics. Even Isaiah didn't know all of these details. Henley and Merritt were the first.

"There's no uncertainty in it," Danny continued his line of thought. "And since we have that, at least, to be sure about, then why bother worrying about anything else?"

"It's still a work in progress, of course," Jack put in. "There are always going to be those moments where we…revert, I suppose is the best word. And we're still the same people we were before meeting each other, just…shifted."

"Well, I say good for you two," Henley said with a happy smile. "I wish we had more wine that I could propose a toast, but maybe it's better that we don't. That would be really fucking cheesy."

"Henley!" Jack said with a surprised laugh at her swearing.

"I'm tipsy and just on this side of drunk," Henley explained unashamedly. "So I think it should be counted a miracle that that one was my first swear."

"She has the mouth of a sailor when she gets drunk, and she doesn't care who knows it," Danny said amusedly.

"Not drunk," Henley corrected, pointing a finger at him. "Just tipsy. I didn't drink enough to get _really_ drunk."

"I say we order some pizza," Merritt proposed. "And while we eat and sober up, we can go over some of the rest of these apartments we've found."

"'Kay, I'll order," Henley promised.

"You sure you're okay talking on the phone right now?" Danny laughed as she made no attempt to stand up.

"Don't be ridiculous and hand me the goddamn iPad," Henley scoffed, holding out a hand. "I can order online."

An hour later, as they ate their pizza and Henley was no longer tipsy, the boys brought forth record of their own findings in their search for an apartment. Jack hid a smile when Merritt sat next to Henley across from them – it would have made more sense, logically, for Merritt to just continue to sit in his chair from before. But no one commented on it.

"Alright, so how many bedrooms are we going for?" Henley asked to clarify, flipping through some of the papers and eyeing the accompanying pictures. "Three?"

"Probably, yeah," Jack confirmed with a nod.

"I, of course, would not mind sharing a room," Merritt volunteered with a grin in Henley's direction. "So just two bedrooms is fine with me. As long as you'd be alright with it, of course."

Henley gave him a look. "We'll see," was all she said, before returning to shuffling through the papers.

In the end, they ended up getting a three bedroom apartment. But two weeks after they'd moved in, they figured out that they really should've just gone with the two bedrooms after all.

 **…**

 **I did** ** _not_** **expect this to be so much longer than the previous two fics I have in this AU – it's longer than both of the other fics put together! It just got away with me, and so many things I** ** _didn't_** **plan just forced their way in here because it was perfect for the time. Point in case being Jack and Danny's ribbing on each other and then the explanation of their love. Yes, it was fluffy. No, I am not ashamed. My muse controls me. But, I have to say I'm satisfied with it.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed reading, and I always love your feedback! I'm going to go to bed now – I've been writing for hours to get this out after my muse clobbered me over the head earlier – yesterday now – and it's almost 5 AM and I have to go to the DMV in a few hours. -_-**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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